


Don't Sweat It

by AstridMyrna



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Heat Stroke, Hurt/Comfort, Naked Male Clothed Female
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 01:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14032947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstridMyrna/pseuds/AstridMyrna
Summary: Rey and Poe are returning to their transport hidden in the desert after a mission, but the heat proves to be too much for Poe and it's up to Rey to save him.





	Don't Sweat It

Two hours had passed since Poe and Rey abandoned their broken down speeder in the middle of the red sands of the Er’Kit desert and trudged towards their transport, but the sun had not moved a finger. Thankfully the massive boulder that threw shade over their transport looked to be within another ten minutes of walking, and they’d soon leave with the information they acquired for what little remained of the Resistance. Rey hated leaving the speeder behind, but they would both die if they didn’t get to shelter soon. 

Poe stumbled into her again and mumbled an apology. She gripped him by the wrist to steady him. Even though his shirt was absolutely soaked, his reddening skin was dry as dust. She held out her nearly empty water carrier to him.

“Drink it,” she told him. 

He stopped and leaned his head back to drain the last of her water, but lost his balance and fell backwards, taking her down with him. He breathed in short, hard breaths, his heart drumming fast against his ribs. She pushed up off of him and patted his cheeks as his head lolled to one side.

“Poe! C’mon, we’re almost there, you just need to walk a little farther.”

He didn’t answer, but his breaths softened when he passed out. Rey hooked her arms under his and dragged him for the longest ten minutes in the baking sun. A small headache she had managed to ignore during their hike exploded, stabbing her temple with every few steps she took. Damn, she should have taken the last few drops for herself, but there was more water in the transport. She just had to get there first.

BB-8, who had been guarding inside the ship while Poe and Rey were on their mission, opened the ramp the moment just as she reach the thin rim of shade. It shrieked at her, demanding how she could have let him get so sun sick, but she barked back, “Get the medkit and activate the cold compresses or he’s going to die!”

Rey let out a sigh of relief as the artificially cooler air kissed her the back of her damp neck before circulating around her trembling body. Just having airflow was better than the dry, stagnant air outside. Rey laid Poe on the metal floor before fumbling for the water jug she had placed by the ramp entrance in case of emergencies like this one. She drank until the murderous headache weakened, she drank until her hands stopped shaking, she drank until the fog she hadn’t noticed forming in her mind until she started gulping down fistfuls of water lifted before attending to Poe.

BB-8 had returned with the medkit and used two of its delicate silver appendages to gently lay a glowing blue cold compress on Poe’s forehead. 

“Good, but he’s going to need more than that to get his temperature down,” Rey said as she fumbled with unbuttoning with his shirt. “Hand me the scissors so I can get his clothes off faster.”

Rey had expected a fight, but to her surprise the little droid whipped out a pair of thin shears from inside one of its tool-bay disks and sliced up his clothing. Rey pulled off his boots and removed his necklace: a silver ring on a leather cord. After the clothing was removed, Rey and BB-8 place cold compresses on his chest, his legs, and his arms. Rey poured some water from the jug in her hand and spread it around his chest to evaporate and help him cool down faster. With a damp, clean cloth she wiped away the crust of blood and spit on his cracked lips, then wetted her fingers and dabbed beads of water on them. She watched the water slowly absorb into his skin, hoping he would wake soon so she could give him water to drink and not risk him choking on it.

She hadn’t known Poe for very long, but she enjoyed spending what little time they had together on this mission. His vibrant energy and passion for the cause was both infectious and intoxicating. Once they were far and away from Crait, he had praised her skill as a gunner and her courage for striking Snoke down. Though he was apparently famous for not wanting a partner other than his droid for special missions, he had asked that Rey join him for this adventure. At first she wanted to say no, as she was still secretly licking her wounds from her encounters with Kylo Ren, but the spark in his eye and the ease of his smile persuaded her to say yes.

 _He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?_  BB-8 beeped mournfully. 

Rey dripped a few more droplets of water on his lips and combed back his dark locks that curled at her fingertips. Their mission was to infiltrate a small town, get their information, and leave within the week. They had spent that time sharing a room in the only inn of the town, swapping stories as they ate rations they brought from the ship. He had so many wonderful things to say about his parents, especially his mother who inspired him to be a pilot, that she felt embarrassed to talk about her own.

“They sold me before I was old enough to know them very well,” she murmured as she scraped up the last of her mash. “I waited for years for them to come and buy me back, even though I knew I wasn’t worth keeping around.”

She swallowed hard, surprised at her own frankness. Poe reached out and squeezed her hand, the skin of her palm tingling from his strong, firm touch.  

“Their loss,” he said, his smile gone. “You’re one of the best people we’ve had fighting for the Resistance. Hell, you flew in and  _saved_  us when no one else dared to.”

“I could only do it because I can use the Force.”

“There’s more to you than the Force, Rey.”

“Like what?”

Maybe it was a trick of the light, or the room suddenly feeling warmer, but she was pretty sure she saw the captain blush. 

“Last I checked, tenacity isn’t a Force power.”

In that moment, she wanted to kiss him but was terrified about what would happen if she did. Now she felt the urge to kiss the lips she dotted water over. Instead, she leaned down and kissed his temple. His eyes fluttered open as he inhaled a long, deep breath.

“Rey,” he muttered.

“Drink,” Rey told him as she helped lift his head up with one hand and dribbled a capful water into his mouth with the other.

He closed his eyes as he drank two, three capfuls of water. He opened them again and smiled at the squealing BB-8.

“Sorry I worried you, buddy,” he croaked.

 _Just don’t scare me like that again!_  BB-8 chided.

“It was my fault, BB. I should have brought the cold packs with me,” Rey said as she poured another capful of water.

“Hey,” Poe said and lifted his arm to drag a knuckle along her jaw. “It was my fault. I said we had to travel light, and that I was used to being in the heat. Or, I thought I was.”

Rey set down the water and took his hand, now considerably cooler than it was a few minutes ago. He gazed up at her, his mouth parted as if he had one more thing to say. She leaned down and kissed his lips before he could speak another word. He fastened his fingers along the back of her neck, giving back in his kiss with what little strength he had regained. His hand slid up to cup her cheek when they broke apart for a breath, his smile and his touch chasing away whatever fear she may have had about starting something with this man she barely knew but wanted to know more, so much more.

Their brief, whirlwind moment of romance, however, was put on hold when Poe looked down at himself and asked, “Ok, why am I naked?”


End file.
